"Spokane is taking what’s described as another big step toward improving water quality.

New policies adopted last week require City Hall purchasing managers to give preference to PCB-free products ranging from road paint to packaging materials. The goal is to cut the amount of toxic pollution being swept into the Spokane River and other waterways from largely unregulated sources.

'Even though the manufacture of PCBs have been outlawed and banned, they’re a byproduct of certain manufacturing processes,' said Council President Ben Stuckart, who calls the carcinogenic man-made compound one of the most dangerous pollutants getting into the river. “So, products that we have still often contain PCBs.'"